The Duty to Love
by impossible123
Summary: Post-episode: S9 Ep 05: The Girl Who Died - - - - The Doctor and Clara didn't want to stay in the viking village anymore. They longed the warmth of the TARDIS, for a warm bath, clean clothes, soft sheets of their beds - - - - [one-shot]


_**A/N: Hi again!**_

_**I'm back with this one-shot! (even though I'm terribly tempted to add a second chapter...)**_

_**Enjoy!**_

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The Doctor and Clara didn't want to stay in the viking village anymore. They longed the warmth of the TARDIS, for a warm bath, clean clothes, soft sheets of their beds. So they were offered a ride back to where they were captured when the Doctor had decided to stop and clean his boot from the space crawly monster which had almost devoured Clara's brain. The girl was washed out after the adrenaline rush, and was sleeping, her head resting on the Doctor's shoulder, also being wrapped tenderly by his long hand. Heidi approached them. "There's a storm coming. You might want to brace yourselves." He said, before going back to the rowers.

Twelve popped his index finger into his mouth and pulled it back out before holding it in the air...

_So__ we __should stay on the North side of the boat_

The Doctor tried waking Clara up. He shook her shoulder gently. "Better move from here. A thunderstorm's approaching." He whispered.

She stirred and groaned. "Let me sleep."

The Doctor also expressed his annoyance, even if in a soft whisper. "Come on Clara, I'm tired too!"

Not even a response. The girl had long succumbed herself to yet another deep rsst.

The time lord sighed. Humans. So vulnerable to needs, so vulnerable to emotions. But it was his human. An extraordinary human which had just helped him get rid of the mire. And she made it fun. She held his hand when he was scared. Clara was the force driving him forwards, make him do the unthinkable, to make the impossible possible, to fuel him with courage and force when he had none.

He shivered as the time lord remembered the moment when he felt most vulnerable the day before, just before facing the Mire.

_3minutes! _

_The Doctor looked outside from the ajar door. He looked mournful and it felt as if he had a mysterious lump in his throat. "What's wrong, Doctor?" He heard the sweetest voice breath behind him, yet he dared not turn. He didn't want to. He had no power. She let her fingers separate his, as she interlaced them with such beauty and gentleness. He sighed as he let his weary eyelids slip in front of his eyes. He could feel that his companion was ever so slightly scared. He could feel her pulse through the palm of her hand; which were both pressed together. _

_"What if it wasn't the best idea? What if there was another way?" He breathed. _

_"I've seen you save so many other villages, so many worlds. Why is this so different?" She breathed sweetly. _

_"According to my other self," the Gallifreyan said. "they're the most difficult aliens to face, Clara." He turned to her. His eyes had a tinge of red, and were slightly glazed. "I don't know if this will work." _

_Clara's other hand left her side and cupped his cheek. "Of course it will, Doctor. Trust me. I'm here with you. They'll be easy to deceive, you'll see." She smiled. _

_Oh... That smile, that glorious smile. He already feel his heart lighten. _

_"And besides, what other creature is more dangerous and evil than the Daleks?" _

_"And I dragged you into a swar-" But she cut him off very easily. _

_"Don't." She simply said. "I survived, Doctor. We lived through it. Both of us. You were able to bring the sewers, and make them pay for what they did to the Universe. You did it all by yourself. And you can do this too. I believe in you. And I trust you blindly with my life, Doctor." _

_"You definately should not do that. " He said chuckling; even if he felt shattered inside when he knew how much Clara trusted him and yet, he failed her so many times. He bent down and kissed her neck. "I don't deserve it, Clara." _

_She giggled. "Of course you do, daft old man. And so much more." _

_They heard someone clear their throat too close to the pair. They turned to find Lofty. "I don't want to interrupt the..." He cleared his throat with uneasiness... "conversation, but have they arrived, yet?" _

_"No, but we'd better get going." The time lord replied. The viking nodded and returned back to the others. _

_The Doctor turned back to his Clara. He kissed her cheek, still keeping his fingers intertwined with hers. "Take care of yourself, Clara." _

_"You too, scruffy grey-haired Doctor." She said as the companion scruffed his hair. The Doctor smirked. "Let's go dance." Clara guided him with the slightest naughtiest grin he had ever seen her do. _

The Doctor heaved her up and moved to the front side of the boat, where he sat down on the wooden floor, with Clara sleeping on his lap. She was still wearing the blue jean shirt (which she had on since she had gone into space, the soft tweed (an addition given to her by Ashildr, since she was roughly the same size) and the pair of jeans (which she had also carried under the space suit. She hadn't straghtened her hair before going on the space walk (gone horribly wrong...) so it was wavy and wild and free... In a good way, though.

The Doctor smoothed her hair as the boat began rocking violently from side to side. She sometimes smiled in her sleep, sometimes moved closer towards his hand, sometimes she just breathed his scent (always smiling afterwards). She looked so happy. He was so happy - no... ecstatic- his hearts could jump out of his chest with excitement and... and... He couldn't think of anything which could describe the fleeting sensation in his chest; the stupid old time lord was anything but_ good_ with emotions.

Clara had mentioned it - the fleeting sensation- quite a few times... Humans sing about it, it's an overused word on Earth. But oh no... He was thinking right, alright! It was..._ love_. And_ care_... So much care for such a small, vulnerable human. But he would never let himself get attached to a human which lives a few mere decades. But at the moment he didn't care. It was an emotion he could not contain.

He heard thunder in the distance, slowly approaching. The wind started ruffling his hair. But not Clara's. She was cocooned by him, protected. The Doctor pressed her further in his chest, keeping her away from all the dangers that could be present in these waters. After a few moments, as the air became colder and the wind ever so slightly more violent, Clara began waking up. Slightly opening her eyes, "Are we there yet?" she groaned.

"We're still in the middle of the sea, Clara." He flicked a few hairs from her face, before cocooning her once again. "But a storm's coming. We should be safe here."

The companion began shivering and huddling closer to the Doctor. "I'm c-cold." She murmured, nuzzling into his chest. The Doctor wrapped his arm tigher around her whilst wrapping her with his open jacket (having bigger on the inside technology). He began stroking her cheek as she drifted deeper into sleep, feeling her warm breath against his t-shirt.

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_**A/N: ****Hope you enjoyed this one-shot! Feedback greatly appreciated! **_


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